Chapter 76: You Die, or I Die

When the Crown Prince's magnificent carriage drove into the military camp, the soldiers tactfully ceased their discussion.

However, Nan Xueyin had keen hearing and still keenly caught the remark, "She is nothing but a weak woman."

She felt a bit displeased in her heart.

The carriage came to a steady stop, and the soldiers waited respectfully outside. Upon seeing Xiao Youlan, they shouted "Crown Prince" in unison, the waves of sound rising and falling, lingering for a long time, which was enough to show what high prestige and reputation Xiao Youlan enjoyed in the military camp.

Xiao Youlan was accustomed to this and had no special reaction; after standing still, he turned around and reached his hand toward the carriage.

Nan Xueyin lowered her gaze in the carriage and could see his broad, slender palm waiting patiently and gentlemanly; she placed her hand on it.

Yet she did not want to do so, directly ignoring his palm and jumping off the carriage herself.

Xiao Youlan was not annoyed and calmly withdrew his hand.

Instead, a burst of laughter and jeers rang out among a few soldiers to the west.

Nan Xueyin looked up.

Some had immediately restrained their smiles, while a few others were still grinning, laughing quite maliciously.

The leading general here laughed heartily: "The soldiers in the army are mostly informal; they had no malicious intent today! Besides, this young lady is truly beautiful, so it is inevitable that everyone would be unable to restrain their feelings. I ask that the Crown Prince and the young lady please forgive us."

Without waiting for the two to reply, he greeted: "Your Highness, everything at the training ground over there is ready, just waiting for you to inspect it."

Xiao Youlan shifted his gaze and landed on Nan Xueyin, "Shall we go together?"

Nan Xueyin did not move, still looking to the west.

She narrowed her eyes and spoke coldly: "I will stay here."

Xiao Youlan looked over in the direction of her gaze.

Under the Crown Prince's gaze, the soldiers lowered their heads one after another.

He lowered his voice: "If you are unhappy, I will punish them."

"No need."

Nan Xueyin's gaze was slightly cold, "You go to the training ground."

Xiao Youlan pondered for a moment, but still respected her choice, and said gently: "I will leave Shu Yu with you; if you have any problems, come find me immediately."

Nan Xueyin gave a hum.

"Shu Yu, you stay."

After Xiao Youlan finished his instructions, he turned to the leading general, "Let's go."

"Yes!"

The crowd surrounded the Crown Prince and headed toward the training ground in a mighty procession.

Nan Xueyin stopped where she was, with Shu Yu by her side. Seeing her still staring at those few people to the west, he asked her with great interest: "Are you really that vengeful?"

Nan Xueyin did not speak. Shu Yu hummed a laugh, with the air of someone who had seen through it, "No wonder you wanted to stay, and even specifically kept me behind as well. Is it because you feel embarrassed to let the Crown Prince take action and want to ask for my help?"

He did not think much of it and rubbed his wrists, "Since you are the person the Crown Prince likes, I have to give you this face. Don't be angry anymore, wait here obediently for me; as for which ones just made you angry, I will go over one by one... Hey? Hey? Where are you going?"

Before Shu Yu could finish his sentence, Nan Xueyin had already strode toward the west.

Shu Yu quickened his pace to follow.

Seeing Nan Xueyin walking over with Shu Yu, those few jeering soldiers huddled together, their faces full of mockery, "Young lady, why didn't you follow the Crown Prince to the training ground? It's quite a sight to see there."

"You even brought Officer Shu over; is the young lady angry?"

"We weren't making fun of you just now; you are a magnanimous person, please forgive us."

Although they said this, not a shred of sincerity or apology could be seen on their faces.

Nan Xueyin did not waste words and went straight to the point, asking: "A match with me?"

A thin, tall man laughed upon hearing this: "A match? A match in what? Embroidery or painting?"

Nan Xueyin was expressionless: "Archery, martial arts, you choose."

The thin, tall man laughed even more heartily instead.

Behind her, Shu Yu saw this and for some reason felt a bit angry—laugh, laugh, laugh, what is there to laugh about? She is issuing a challenge, and he keeps laughing; I really want to punch him!

It was also at this moment that Nan Xueyin took a step forward and landed a heavy punch straight onto the thin, tall man's face.

The thin, tall man was hit so that half his body tilted, and the few soldiers beside him also lost their footing.

The few of them helped each other stand steady. The thin, tall man finally stopped laughing. Before he could react, he raised his head; his left cheek was visibly swollen, and blood was seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Shu Yu could not help but raise his eyebrows, looking at "Hua Lianying" with newfound respect for the first time.

"Archery, martial arts, take your pick."

Nan Xueyin withdrew her hand and repeated simply.

The thin, tall man looked at her, finally realizing that it was this woman who had punched him.

Don't say, it really hurt! No lighter than the private fights between them men!

"This young lady!"

A round-faced man smiled and came out to smooth things over, "The few of us were truly unintentional just now. If you are unhappy, we are willing to accept punishment! After all, you are the Crown Prince's person, and a woman at that; for us men to compete with you in these things is truly unfair! If anything were to happen to you, we wouldn't be able to answer to the Crown Prince!"

Nan Xueyin glanced at him; this should be the small leader among these few people.

She asked: "Are you afraid of death?"

The round-faced man was stunned.

He... he didn't seem to mean that, did he?

"At worst, we can sign a life-or-death contract. If you die, or I die, it will have nothing to do with the other party." When Nan Xueyin said "if you die," her gaze swept around among this group of men.

A gaze that was utterly indifferent and provocative was hard not to stir up fighting spirit.

Especially the thin, tall man, who was already angry from being hit, shouted: "Right! Sign a life-or-death contract, it's all voluntary, the Crown Prince won't be able to blame us!"

The round-faced man was still hesitating.

Shu Yu looked at them, then looked at Nan Xueyin.

Suddenly, he recalled the time back at the Eastern Palace when he saw her with his own eyes draw a bow and shoot an arrow.

A sudden thought occurred to him; perhaps she truly possessed some genuine skill.

"Let's compete," Shu Yu said.

He was a personal guard to the Crown Prince, and since he had been ordered to stay behind by His Highness the Crown Prince just moments ago, his words still carried considerable weight.

Nan Xueyin was already starting to lose patience, "If you don't dare to compete, then what kind of soldier are you? You might as well go back to your hometown and farm."

These words were extremely arrogant, and the soldiers' morale soared even higher; everyone was rubbing their palms and eager to start the competition immediately.

The round-faced man was also so angry he laughed, clenching his jaw, "Fine, then let's have a competition."

He said to the tall, thin man, "Xia Lin, you go first!"

Xia Lin was exactly what he had hoped for!

Enduring the swelling pain on his face, he said to Nan Xueyin, word for word, "You and I will compete in archery."

Nan Xueyin nodded, "Very well."

Right next to them was the training ground, where bows, arrows, and weapons were all available.

"These recurve bows are all used for daily training; every one of them is the same, with no difference. Usually, when we spar in the army, we set up a colorful flag one hundred paces away, and the one who hits it the fastest is the winner."

Nan Xueyin listened to the rules, nodded nonchalantly, picked up a recurve bow at random, and walked to her position.

Xia Lin was on her left, confidently fiddling with the recurve bow in his hand, while the others gathered around him, laughing and talking.

Shu Yu deliberately took a detour past them, caught an earful, and came over to secretly tell Nan Xueyin, "They say this Xia Lin is the best at archery among them, and he hits the colorful flag in three arrows at most."

He tilted his head and gazed into the distance at the small colorful flag that had already been set up, imagining what the result would be if it were him.

Actually, he was also quite skilled at archery, but he dared not guarantee he would hit it in one shot; a conservative estimate would be between three to five arrows.

Therefore, Shu Yu said, "You are a woman; it is not shameful to lose to him. It will be fine if you can finish in about five arrows. If it really doesn't work, six arrows, seven arrows... no one will laugh at you, so don't put too much pressure on yourself."